Colin Duriez (born 19 July 1947) is a writer on

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

, especially that of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

Life and works

Duriez was born in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

and spent his early life in

Long Eaton Long Eaton is a town in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about south-west of Nottingham and some 8½ miles (13.7 km) south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has ...

, Derbyshire, in a couple of new council estates near

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and six years in a mining village in South Wales, before moving to the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. After school he studied for two years at the

University of Istanbul , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, before completing his studies at the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

in Coleraine,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

where he read English and philosophy. After a career in editing and journalism in London, interspersed with some teaching, he migrated to Leicester in 1983 to work with a small publisher, IVP, as a

commissioning editor In book publishing, a commissioning editor is essentially a buyer. It is the job of the commissioning editor to advise the publishing house on which books to publish. Usually the actual decision of whether to contract a book is taken by a senior ma ...

. In 2002 he started his own business, InWriting, devoted to writing, editorial services, and some book acquisition for publishers. Duriez won the

Clyde S. Kilby Clyde Samuel Kilby (26 September 1902, in Johnson City, Tennessee – 18 October 1986, in Columbus, Mississippi) was an American writer and English professor, best known for his scholarship on the Inklings, especially J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lew ...

Award in 1994 for his research on the

Inklings The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who pr ...

, the literary group that included Tolkien and

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

. He has published many books on Christian literary figures, and other written works, and he has spoken to literary, academic and professional groups.

Books by Colin Duriez

Literary works

* 1990 ''The C. S. Lewis Handbook'' (Monarch Publications/Baker Book House) * 1992 ''Tolkien and Middle-earth Handbook'' (Monarch Publications/Baker Book House/Angus & Robertson) * 2000 ''The C.S. Lewis Encyclopedia'' (Crossway) * 2001 (with David Porter) ''The Inklings Handbook'' (Azure/Chalice) * 2001 ''Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings: A Guide to Middle Earth'' (Azure/Hidden Spring) * 2006 ''The Poetic Bible'' (compiler) (SPCK) * 2007 ''The Unauthorised Harry Potter Companion'' (Sutton) * 2007 ''A Field Guide to Harry Potter'' * 2008 ''A Field Guide to Narnia'' * 2013 ''The A-Z of C.S. Lewis: An Encyclopedia of His Life, Thought and Writings'' (Lion Hudson) * 2015 (with Cindy Kiple) ''Bedeviled: Lewis, Tolkien and the Shadow of Evil'' (IVP Books)

Biography

* 2003 ''Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship'' (HiddenSpring) * 2005 ''The C.S. Lewis Chronicles'' (Darton Longman & Todd) * 2013 ''C.S. Lewis, A biography of friendship'' (Lion Books) * 2015 ''Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life'' (Crossway) * 2015 ''The Oxford Inklings: Lewis, Tolkien and their Circle'' (Lion Books) * 2018 ''J.R.R. Tolkien: The Making of a Legend'' (Rydon) * 2020 ''Dorothy Sayers'' (Lion Hudson)

History

* 2008 ''AD 33: The Year That Changed the World'' (History Press)

References

External links

* 1947 births Living people People from Long Eaton British writers Alumni of Ulster University {{england-writer-stub